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Islam and Muslims in
Cyberspace
From (Re)presenting to (Re) understanding
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Is there still a psychological barrier between committed Muslims and the media?
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An
initial study of Islam and Muslim environments in cyberspace proves that
there is a great chance for representing Islam and Muslims.
Using
the Internet as an alternative and interpersonal form of communication may
help to break the traditional cycle of stereotyping among Muslims themselves
and between Muslims and others. A more profound and deliberate study may
lead us to recognize the possibility of reunderstanding and rediscovering
not only the other but also Muslim self-understanding.
To
a certain extent, any study of Muslims using the Internet may begin with the
predictable psychological barrier between committed Muslims and the media.
This was reflected in a discussion on whether the Internet is lawful or
prohibited, as the Internet seems to raise issues of pornography and
privacy. One Muslim user lamented, “The already critical social problems
of Muslim youth at present will be further worsened by the emerging Internet
technology.” 1 This was an expected
argument among the various reactions.
Read
in this Article
Muslim
Existence on the Web: Initial Focuses
Cyber
Muftis: Traditionalism and Modernity
Social
Life of Information
Anonymity:
Between Freedom and Trust
More
Characteristics of the Internet
The
Digital Gap: Who Maps the Web?
Muslim
Existence on the Web: Initial Focuses
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Muslim existence on the web initially focused on traditional content
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Many
factors determine Muslim existence on the Internet, as opposed to the cinema
or television, and make it more vivid and active. The Internet is different
from the cinema industry as the Internet needs less infrastructure and does
not depend only on visual expression. It is also different from television,
which through most of its history, especially in the Muslim world, has been
dominated by the government and needs huge investments. These factors,
beside the objects and goals of various Muslim activists and intellectuals,
make the Muslim existence in cyberspace inevitable and vital.
Muslim
existence initially focussed on traditional content, as Gary Bunt states in
his Book Virtually Islamic. The primary form of Islamic expression
online was the Qur’an and Sunnah, using hypertexts and the advantages of
multimedia. However, this primary form developed rapidly into a more
sophisticated existence that varies according to the different sects and
points of view. Perhaps the most effective form is the one that tries to
keep up with modern times in all areas.2
The
Internet seems, generally, to be the “voice of the voiceless.” According
to Bunt, “Minority opposition may believe that cyberspace is an
environment in which religious, cultural and sectarian differences can be
articulated with great safety.”3 Therefore, on this digital platform we
can expect to find many expressing themselves as Islamic representatives
speaking in the name of Islam. Consequently, concern arises among interested
scholars and analysts of the so called “fragmentation of authority,”
especially in the areas of Shari`ah and jurisprudence.
This
concern cannot be discussed without understanding some of the problematic
interpretations of the relation between the sacred text and relative human
understanding. One of these interpretations, which can guarantee some kind
of respected diversity instead of fragmentation, is the realization of the
“interactive distance” between the sacred text and our human
understanding. This realization makes the different Muslim traditions and
methodologies respected as long as they are based on the fixed
principles—as no one owns the absolute truth.
From
this interactive distance between text and human understanding emerges the
possibility of ijtihad, or personal reasoning, after the revelation.
For Muslims, the nature of time and history is fundamentally different
during the event of the revelation and the sacred mission of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him), because then God guided the affairs of
the community in a uniquely direct way.
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May be the most effective form is the one that tries to keep up with modern times in all areas
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After
this era, but depending on its principles and guidelines, we established
personal reasoning. Muslims, therefore, always change their position if,
after careful and meticulous use of reasoning, more appropriate and correct
conclusions can be found. Consequently, Islam is a dynamic religion that is
able to fit with the ever-changing milieu.4
This
understanding is highlighted by Bennabi, not only to establish pluralism
among Muslims, but also to understand the process of resurgence and
disappearance of civilizations between Muslims and non-Muslims. Bennabi
emphasises that
whereas
civilisation is the transformation of any good idea into a reality,
Islam is a set of guidelines, a way of life, or a project, that creates
a civilisation only when put into practice; when its adherents carry it
and move through the world positively influencing man, material and
time. Therefore, a Muslim may be uncivilised just as a non-Muslim may be
civilised.5
Among
Muslim intellectuals, some scholars, such as Sheikh Tahtawi, see various
interpretation and ijtihad methodologies as the Muslim practice of
pluralism and democracy. Tahtawi tries to show that democratic concepts are
compatible with the Islamic Law by comparing political pluralism in western
societies to forms of ideological and jurisprudential pluralism that exist
in the Islamic experience.6
Cyber
Muftis: Traditionalism and Modernity
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The medium itself (the Internet) puts much more responsibility on the user’s shoulders
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Therefore,
the Internet may clearly present a range of trends, among them the Islamic
jurisprudential traditions, but these different customs should have an
internal consistency that guarantees an organized diversity. The Internet
achieves the involvement of traditional scholars and muftis, putting them to
the challenge of dealing with the concerns and problems of modern daily
life.
There
are relatively well organized and accessible systems for searching for
authentic religious references. But the medium itself (the Internet) puts
much more responsibility on the user’s shoulders, to compare and choose
among the fiqhi opinions according to the user’s context and
circumstances.
The
Internet can provide scholars and muftis a great opportunity to network and
communicate, and this may develop the essential process of interaction. The
importance of such a process can be imagined when we know that Al-Ghanwishi
referred to the difficulties of communication and transportation among
Muslims as one of the reasons they failed to develop shura (mutual
consultation) from a value to a political system.7
The
advantages and disadvantages of being in cyberspace bring forward the
question of whether or not the Internet in the Muslim world will cause real
social, cultural, and possibly political changes; and if so, what are these
changes? There is no direct simple answer; it is as sophisticated and
dynamic as the Internet itself, used in different contexts and with
different habits.
Social
Life of Information
Fundamental
facts should be discussed in order to understand the issue of changing
people's attitudes and minds on certain topics. One of these facts
is that the “social life of information, as
the creation of knowledge from raw information, is a social activity of
human beings. Much of what we recognize as learning comes from informal
social interactions between learners and mentors.”8
The
relation between information technology on the one hand, and change and
development on the other, cannot be isolated from distinct factors and
environments. “Technology can only transform to a certain extent, and
other factors exert great influence on the utilization and eventual success
or failure of new concepts and technology.”9
This
matter needs a great deal of study and analysis, not only by focusing on the
interrelation between information technology and the various social and
cultural contexts, but also by studying the history of information. “The
importance of organizational learning and tacit knowledge suggests that to a
degree no one has yet appreciated, the history of information is an
institutional history.”10
Some
intellectuals refuse to see the Internet as a cause of change, especially in
the political sphere, as most of the Muslim and Arab world are mainly
affected by the oral culture, this being related to socio-cultural reasons
along with high rates of illiteracy. As access to the Internet requires
skills in using the computer and the English language, this makes the
influence of the Internet limited in many ways.
But
there is another point of view, which refers to a sophisticated process of
change through the Internet and the information revolution. This is not
related only to the medium itself but is related to the nature of the users.
Some users are active enough to release the message from its medium by
printing or by communicating with the people orally—delivering the
released messages that are still affected by the characteristics of the
Internet.
One
of the most important things, especially for the consumer of this
technology—most of the Muslim world are consumers and not producers of
this technology—is to know the challenges as well as the characteristics
of this medium.
The
architecture of the Web decides its traits, but the media work within the
culture introduces its needs. For instance, many of those whom we can call
cybersociologists see virtual relations and communication in cyberspace as
reflecting the community’s hunger for “third places,” which are
described by Oldenburg as “the core settings of informal public life.”
The free or inexpensive local “third places” have disappeared and many
of us have an increased feeling that the community is lacking. “Third
places,” according to Oldenburg, are necessary for a community to arise.
"There are places where members of a community interact with others and
come to know the ties that they have in common. In part, this virtual
communication is a response to the hunger for a community and has followed
the disintegration of traditional communities around the world.”11
The
interrelation between reality and the virtual community can be observed in
many situations and in relation to different contexts. For example, many
Muslims and Arabs suffered an intense feeling of helplessness during the
Palestinian Intifada and the war on Iraq. Cyberspace has been an active
arena for showing such feelings, and thus Web authors should realize the
necessity of a balanced message that does not encourage the illusion of
cyberaction only, but uses the advantages of cyberactivism.
This
balanced coverage cannot be achieved without sufficient knowledge of both
Web architecture and offline contexts. By absorbing both spheres, unique
solutions and formulae for problematic issues can be created. Addressing
social groups, as opposed to individuals, can reactivate their roles rather
than marginalize them.
Other
social and psychological problematic phenomena can be understood and solved
by more involvement of the proper offline social structures. For example,
interpersonal and intimate communication in cyberspace emerges as what is
known now as “e-love”—an idealistic image that can be drawn for both
women and men via this virtual relationship, which is free of
responsibilities.
On
the interactive page for cyber-counseling at IslamOnline.net, a simple
principle is repeated in response to such e-love problems. In cyberspace, as
in the real community, there is a private sphere as well as a public sphere,
and one of the safe healthy interactions between men and women is engaging
in public activities on the Web rather than private interactions, where the
risk of illusion is increased.
The
same page also relates to the offline community by advising most of the
youth who face the problems of an empty life and who seek to kill time
online to interact and participate actively in their communities.
Anonymity:
Between Freedom and Trust
Human
interaction revolves around issues of trust, and trust in the anonymous
computer realm is hard (but not impossible) to come by. Reputation systems
are important components of that, but in reality we judge the
trustworthiness of a person on a million different factors.12
Here
we realize the difficulty of human interaction in cyberspace, as the large
amount of freedom is limited by a similar amount of lack of trust; both are
the result of the anonymity of the Web.
Through
this anonymity flourishes discussion about the usual taboos (politics,
religion, and sex).This opportunity can be tackled in many ways according to
the authors’ objectives, from stimulating pornographic sites to other
sites that investigate and explore such taboos. The relative freedom of
expression in cyberspace can form a suitable atmosphere to discuss the
psychosexual and social problems of our societies.
According
to the experience of IslamOnline.net Web site, many were shocked by the
discussion of problems on the cyber-counselling page but, after a while,
they realized the difference: the difference between exciting commercial
phenomena on the Web and the discussion of our real concerns and social
problems. This opportunity shows the hidden half of our societies, helping
us to reinforce the infrastructure of our social life.
The
same experience indicates the importance of specialization as well as
interdisciplinary involvement between different fields. Social and
psychological problems are discussed by sociologists, psychologists, and
psychiatrists, who may consult with the Shari`ah section on given topics.
Likewise Shari`ah may consult with Counseling or other sections. This
provides the different specialists with a relatively comprehensive
awareness.
Interactive
and interpersonal communication via the Internet can overcome generalities
and one may discuss personal concerns, investigating the matters to reach
greater understanding. The method used in the IslamOnline.net counseling
service does not suggest or impose a solution, but enlightens users in order
to empower them according to their circumstances.
More
Characteristics of the Internet
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The Characteristics of the Internet need deliberate investigation and elaboration
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There
are more characteristics of the Internet that can affect society if we use
them in parallel with awareness of the challenges:
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The Internet is an alternative arena, as it provides genuine competition
to mainstream media. It does not replace it but affects it deeply, in
that it is related to civil society and cyberactivism.
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The Internet gives the opportunity for more representation of day-to-day
life and the personal touch. The discussion forums and chat rooms form a
challenging rediscovery of one’s self and others. The Internet
re-examines the chronic issues of identity. For instance, Muslims in the
West have a different kind of media via the Internet, which may reshape
their identity. “Media and technology have brought together seemingly
dispersed communities.”13 This unification has found expression in local
media.
Not only has access to information increased opportunities for
learning about Islam, but it has also developed a sense of belonging to
and identifying with a local, national, and global Ummah. The concept of
identity links very strongly to knowing about other Muslims and their
condition. Being informed about Muslims around the world seems to have a
direct link to how people identify themselves as Muslims. For many, then,
identity has been influenced directly by the existence of Muslim media,
which provides knowledge and information about Muslims, and religious
advice and instructions.14 This expected influence can be achieved
actively on the Web.
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The other prominent characteristic is what the Web experts describe as the
“rhetoric of links and hypertext and multi-media.” Hypertext opens up
particular kinds of writing innovations, such as the linking together of
data, analysis, and interpretation in the same medium, and the
juxtaposition of materials in written, visual, and aural forms. 15
These
characteristics and many more, which need deliberate investigation and
elaboration, do not really mean that the Internet is actually the “voice
of the voiceless,” as there is a digital gap.
The
Digital Gap: Who Maps the Web?
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Muslims can ally with others against injustice in a dynamic way
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There
is much energy, money and time that is needed to bridge the gap between
disadvantaged and advantaged communities. The predominance of the English
language also needs to be reduced and the attitudes of Web authors need to
change.
Often
there is little, or limited, information on works by people from
developing countries. Web authors need to address this problem by allowing
equal coverage to writers from developing areas, or simply by giving
exposure to individuals outside their society in their articles.16
Muslims,
because they are distributed between the switched-off and the switched-on
areas, can play a role by introducing the problems, the languages, and the
concerns, not only for Muslims but also for humanity. Muslims can ally with
others against injustice in a dynamic way, to protect Muslim interests and
keep the human values.
Dalia
Yusuf is IslamOnline.net's Art
& Culture Page editor. She has a postgraduate diploma in journalism from
Cairo University. You can reach her at Bridge@islam-online.net.
1
John Horvath, “Islam
and the Internet,” 9
Sept. 1998.
2
IslamOnline.net, About
Us.
3
Gary Bunt, Virtually Islamic: Computer-mediated Communication and Cyber
Islamic Environments (Cardiff: Univ. of Wales Press, 2000).
4
Joanne McEwan. Review
of Orientalism by Ziauddin Sardar. 2002.
5
Institute of Islamic Political Thought, “Democracy
in Islamic Political Thought.”
6
Ibid.
7
IslamOnline.net (Arabic), Interview
with Sheikh Rashed,
2003.
8
G. C. Gupta, review
of The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown and Paul
Duguid. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, Aug. 2003.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
Robin Hamman, “Introduction to Virtual Communities,” Research and
Cyber-sociology Magazine, Issue 2.
12
G. C. Gupta, review.
13
Peter Mandaville, Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma.
London: Routledge, 2001.
14
“Young
Muslims and Muslim Media in Britain.”
15
Bruce Mason and Bella Dicks, “Research Methodology Online,” Digital
Ethnographer, issue 6, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University.
16
Kirsten Smith, “Minority
Groups and People from Developing Nations on the Net.
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